French Grand Prix – Race Round-Up
FRENCH FRUSTRATION
Panasonic Toyota Racing left Magny-Cours frustrated after
a disappointing French Grand Prix saw Ralf Schumacher finish
10th while Jarno Trulli retired. Showers were threatened during
the afternoon but the race started in cloudy and dry conditions,
with track temperatures at 37°C. Jarno lined up 8th but
as the field bunched up approaching the hairpin, he hit the
rear of Heikki Kovalainen’s car, damaging his front
wing and forcing him to limp back to the pits. Unfortunately
the car’s suspension was also damaged and he was forced
to retire immediately. Ralf made a clean start from 11th but
lost two positions in the aftermath of Jarno’s accident,
although he quickly began to put pressure on the cars ahead.
When he made his first pit stop on lap 28 he returned to a
clear track in front of him, giving him the chance to show
his true pace. Some quick laps meant he made up a position
at the first round of stops and he steadily closed the gap
on the cars ahead. However, despite a spirited drive before
and after his final stop on lap 53, he missed out on points
and the team now aim to add to its tally in the British Grand
Prix at Silverstone next Sunday.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 11, Chassis TF107/05)
Race Classification: 10th Tyres Used: Medium, medium, soft
Qualifying Classification: 11th Time: 1m 18.539s (+0.739s
in Q2) Grid: 11th
“The race went quite well apart from the first lap.
It’s a shame that we didn’t score points because
our pace was competitive. The circumstances on the first lap,
when Jarno hit Kovalainen at the hairpin, were unfortunate
for me. I couldn’t go anywhere and lost a couple of
positions as everyone tried to get through the corner safely
so I was a bit unlucky. I was a lot quicker than Barrichello
but I couldn’t overtake. From there on the race was
difficult and I lost 20 seconds before my first pit stop.
We kept fighting and put some good lap times in, which showed
the potential of the car. We are continuously developing the
car and I’m sure we will make more progress to improve
the car. Silverstone is a different track and a new race.
We had a promising test their recently so I hope to score
some points.”
Jarno Trulli (Car 12, Chassis TF107/06)
Race Classification: DNF Tyres Used: Medium
Qualifying Classification: 8th Time: 1m 15.935s (+0.901s
in Q3) Grid: 8th
“It was a racing accident. The field was very bunched
up on the first lap and to be honest I just misjudged it going
into the hairpin. I was not attacking anyone but I just braked
too late and I hit Kovalainen. I am really sorry for him because
it spoiled his race, and mine as well. Unfortunately I just
made a mistake. The impact damaged my suspension as well as
my front wing. I got back to the pits but there was no way
for us to continue. It’s a real shame because I am confident
we had a good strategy and I expected to score points today.
But the next race is very soon and with everyone in the team
working so hard I am sure we will get a better result at Silverstone
in the British Grand Prix.”
Tadashi Yamashina – Team Principal
“Today this result is not actually that good but there
are two or three better things. One would be the competitive
performance from Ralf, especially over long runs when he was
not held up in traffic. His performance was very good and
you could see from his lap times that we had the pace to finish
much higher. Unfortunately he lost places after Jarno’s
accident and that cost him 20 seconds on his first stint.
Without that he would have scored points today. I am sure
Jarno would also have scored points. Another positive was
that our launch at the start was good. Clearly Jarno hit Kovalainen
but he was challenging for a top six place and I am very glad
to see him racing at that end of the grid. Finally, we had
no reliability issues, the cars ran without major trouble
all weekend and the team did a very good job. I am proud of
them.”
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